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FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Boston Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino said Friday that general manager Ben Cherington is "exploring" the team's options in what he called an "ongoing" issue with the Chicago Cubs regarding compensation for departed general manager Theo Epstein.

Lucchino, who was in attendance at Boston's exhibition game with the Minnesota Twins at Hammond Stadium, the Twins' spring park, made the comment in the aftermath of elbow surgery for pitcher Chris Carpenter, one of two players the Red Sox had received as compensation for Epstein.

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EVANSTON, Ill. -- New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi knows how hard it is to run a team, especially one as storied as his former team, the Chicago Cubs. That's why he is hoping for the best for new Cubs skipper Dale Sveum.

"I had a chance to know Dale a little bit, not a lot," Girardi told ESPNChicago.com as he watched the Michigan St.-Northwestern football game on Saturday afternoon. "And obviously, he's had a number of jobs, whether it's been a third base coach in Boston or hitting coach in Milwaukee, and he's been around the game a long time and he's a guy that has prepared himself for this opportunity and I'm happy for him."

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CHICAGO -- As Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer and Dale Sveum made their way down I-94 on Thursday, it marked a life-changing event for Sveum, who spent perhaps the most meaningful years of his professional life in the Milwaukee Brewers organization.

So, to mark his milestone, Sveum, the new manager of the Chicago Cubs, asked his new bosses stop in Racine. There was one important task he needed to complete before he left for fame and fortune in Illinois.

"He had to get measurements for a tux for the wedding he's in," said a bemused Epstein on Friday. "He's the best man for his (Milwaukee) clubbie's wedding. Then, we had to stop at a Men's Wearhouse to get that sports coat.

"He came out to talk to the Cubs and Red Sox about their manager's job and didn't bring a sports coat. It's funny, we went into this Men's Wearhouse in Racine and we walked in and the kid behind the desk goes, 'Please don't leave us Dale.' It was embarrassing."

Pardon the pun, but this isn't the Sveum old manager you're used to, Cubs fans. Sveum is a straight-talking, tattooed, hard-nosed guy who doesn't put on airs or formal attire. He isn't worried about trading quips, or living in the past.

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CHICAGO -- The "Boston show" welcomed a new member Friday when Dale Sveum was introduced as Chicago Cubs manager.

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It's been tough, but I'm working to get over my distrust of management in, and around, the city of Chicago. I've got a 12-step thing going on. Right now, I'm on Step 9: Get excited about Dale Sveum.

See, I'm a positive guy at heart.

I want to believe Rahm Emanuel will clean up the debilitating waste in government. I want to believe Lovie Smith can find that mythical continuity at safety. I want to believe that Kenny Williams' tragic touch is gone. I want to believe Stan Bowman ... ah, I don't really care about the Blackhawks. I want to believe DePaul can win multiple Big East games before the conference vanishes.

And I really want to believe in Dale Sveum, the new manager of the Chicago Cubs. Sveum isn't Mike Maddux. He isn't Sandy Alomar Jr.He also isn't Mike Quade, so that's a plus.

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The hiring of Milwaukee Brewers hitting coach Dale Sveum as the Chicago Cubs manager makes sense on several different levels.

There is a degree of familiarity between the Cubs' new front office featuring president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, general manager Jed Hoyer and vice president of scouting and player development Jason McLeod and their new manager, and there is a history of success. The relationship goes back to 2004, when they were part of a World Series championship in Boston.

Sveum was the Red Sox's third base coach, a position he would hold for the next two seasons before returning to Milwaukee, where he once played for the Brewers and coached in four different areas, including 12 games as manager.

Sveum is the right choice here because of the direction the Cubs' new front office wants to go. The management team will look to build its success by scouting and developing amateur players from the U.S. as well as internationally.

And Sveum's communication skills and ability to forge relationships will help with the younger players.

"Dale's a very, very hard worker," Brewers utility man Jerry Hairston Jr. said. "In sports terms, he's the equivalent of a basketball gym rat.

"As a hitting coach, he's always there to help you and to encourage on to doing better things. The Cubs got themselves a real winner there with Dale. He's done just about everything in baseball."

Getting professional athletes to give you all they have is the greatest challenge for a coach. And the atmosphere at Clark and Addison has needed a face lift almost as much as the 97-year-old facade.

The three previous managers were not able to get their players to get involved in team baseball. Bunting, situation hitting, driving the ball to the right side were all missing elements for most of the Dusty Baker-Lou Piniella-Mike Quade eras.

Not all of that falls on the manager, of course. Part of the equation is to bring in unselfish players who have not become set in their ways and have preconceived ideas.

The first part of the question will be up to the scouting and development people. The rest will be Sveum and his coaching staff.

As important as the hiring of Sveum is, bringing in a solid coaching staff is key to success. Hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, bench coach Pat Listach and bullpen coach Lester Strode are under contract. Team officials have not told any of the coaches that they'll be back. They were all told they have to wait until the manager was hired.

Hire the Milwaukee Brewers hitting coach and could their slugging first baseman follow?

That has to be the line of thinking for many fans with the news that Dale Sveum has accepted an offer to manage the Cubs after spending the past six seasons in Milwaukee working with Prince Fielder, who is one of the biggest prizes in free agency this offseason.

Although Sveum and Fielder have a good relationship, the new Cubs manager probably will have no impact on where Fielder signs. Fielder's agent, Scott Boras, is in charge of where Fielder ends up, and Boras has always been known as a guy who gets the most money and longest terms for his client.

The smart money in baseball has Fielder ending up with the Washington Nationals.

"Well, wherever he signs they are getting one heck of a guy," Sveum said. "(He's) one of my favorite people I've ever coached. And the way he competes and plays the game hard as he does every night, you wish you had 25 Prince Fielders. The leadership he brings by the way he plays is unmatched by anyone in baseball."

Fielder batted .299 with 38 home runs and 120 RBIs in helping the Brewers win the NL Central this season. The 27-year-old first baseman has five 30-homer seasons in his six-year career and has driven in 100 runs in each of the past three seasons.

Former Cub Jerry Hairston Jr. saw the Sveum-Fielder relationship firsthand after Hairston Jr. was traded to the Brewers on July 30.

"It was interesting to watch he and Prince work together," Hairston Jr. said. "It will not hurt the Cubs' chances of getting Prince, if that's what they want to do in the offseason. Their relationship is really tight. It's about trust, both Dale and Prince have had success together. That certainly does bond a relationship."

Cubs centerfielder Marlon Byrd said the Sveum-Byrd connection makes sense but he, like everyone else, is just waiting to see what Theo Epstein and Co. have planned.

"I know that they're pretty tight," Byrd said of Sveum and Fielder. "What could be better than to get Prince here in Chicago? I don't know what Theo and Jed's plan is. Trying to bring in a great player like Prince, and knowing the relationship Sveum, has with him, could be a leg up. But that’s not my call. I'm not the GM, I'm just a player."

MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee Brewers hitting coach Dale Sveum has accepted an offer to be the next manager of the Chicago Cubs.

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MILWAUKEE -- Minutes after Boston Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington said Wednesday night the Red Sox had taken a "good step" in bringing Dale Sveum to Milwaukee to meet with the team's owners, a source confirmed that Sveum had been offered the manager's job by the Chicago Cubs.

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As Terry Francona prepares to take at least a year away from baseball, he's pulling for two of his former coaches to land a big-league managerial job.

Francona, the former Red Sox skipper, said Wednesday he withdrew his name from consideration for the Cubs managerial job, leaving Dale Sveum, DeMarlo Hale, Sandy Alomar Jr., Mike Maddux and Pete Mackanin in the running.

Francona knows Sveum and Hale well. Sveum was Francona's third base coach for two seasons under Francona in Boston before moving on to the Milwaukee Brewers.

"Players love him and they should," Francona said Wednesday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "I played with him actually in Milwaukee. He's kind of a players' player. He does things right. He's solid."

The Cubs are reportedly going to speak again with Sveum again during the general managers meetings in Milwaukee this week. Sveum has also interviewed with the Red Sox.

Hale, Francona's bench coach for the past two years after four years as his third base coach, talked with the Cubs by phone about the job. Theo Epstein, his former boss in Boston and the Cubs' new president of baseball operations, has said a formal interview with Hale or Francona wasn't necessary because of their familiarity with each other.

Francona said Hale should be managing in the major leagues.

"I could go on and on [about Hale]. You don't have enough time," Francona said. "When you sit with somebody in the dugout for that amount of time and you go through the ups and downs ... DeMarlo is like a brother to me. He should be managing somewhere. I hope the way our season ended in Boston doesn't hurt his chances because this guy is about as solid as they come."

Epstein said Monday that he would present his final choice to chairman Tom Ricketts and his family. A conclusion for the search appears to be on the horizon for the end of this week, or by early next week at the latest.

Francona said the Cubs are in good hands with Epstein, general manager Jed Hoyer and vice president of scouting and player development Jason McLeod.

"You can't guarantee somebody is going to win a World Series but the three guys are going to put the Cubs in a position ... they're intelligent, they're not going to get outworked," Francona said. "What they did in Boston and in San Diego with Jed and Jason, they're going to do everything in their power to put the Cubs organization in the best light. They're very, very intelligent people, and they're not going to get outworked. That's a pretty nice combination."

Former Boston Red Sox skipper Terry Francona didn't completely rule out managing again in 2012, but he did pull himself out of the running for the Chicago Cubs job and said he would take a step back after not getting the St. Louis Cardinals position.

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MILWAUKEE -- Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein dropped a new name into the conversation about candidates for the Cubs manager job on Monday night.

Epstein, who already interviewed four people during an eight-day span, said that Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer has talked on the phone with Boston Red Sox bench coach DeMarlo Hale about the job. Similar to his stance on former Boston manager Terry Francona, Epstein doesn’t feel the need to formally interview Hale.

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Cleveland Indians bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr. doesn’t know if he’ll be the next manager of the Chicago Cubs or the Boston Red Sox. But he threw all of himself into both opportunities this past week.

“I felt positive about both interviews,” Alomar said on ESPN 1000’s ‘Talkin’ Baseball on Saturday. “I think that they try not to hint what are they looking for. They ask you so many different questions. All I got to do is just be myself. Regardless of what they are thinking, I’m just going to give you what I know.”

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CHICAGO -- Cleveland Indians bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr. interviewed for the Chicago Cubs managerial opening Friday.

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